Wednesday, January 17, 2024

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

The story behind “Jesus Paid It All” is an interesting one. Elvina Hall was sitting in her church. As her pastor preached about the crucifixion, the words of this song came to her. No paper available, she wrote the words in her hymnal. After the service, she told him that she hadn’t listened to the sermon. When he joked that she probably wasn’t the only one who had fallen asleep, Hall corrected him. She had not slept while he preached; she had been writing. After seeing the words, the pastor remembered that the church’s choir director had written a tune which he had titled “All to Christ I Owe,” but he didn’t have words. The pastor arranged a meeting between Hall and the choir director. After collaborating, the two agreed neither the words nor the tune needed altering. The only thing missing was a chorus which the pastor and Hall wrote together. As one scholar put it: “This hymn was more than a coincidence.” Yes, our Lord was in it!

MEDITATION: Thank you for paying my debt in full.

I hear the Savior say,“Thy strength indeed is small;Child of weakness, watch and pray,Find in Me thine all in all.”Jesus paid it all,All to Him I owe;Sin had left a crimson stain,He washed it white as snow.For nothing good have IWhereby Thy grace to claim;I’ll wash my garments whiteIn the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.And now complete in Him,My robe, His righteousness,Close sheltered ’neath His side,I am divinely blest.Lord, now indeed I findThy pow’r, and Thine alone,Can change the leopard’s spots [leper’s]And melt the heart of stone.When from my dying bedMy ransomed soul shall rise,“Jesus died my soul to save,”Shall rend the vaulted skies.And when before the throneI stand in Him complete,I’ll lay my trophies down,All down at Jesus’ feet.

In the name of Jesus, I praise You. AMEN.